Abstract: Inonotus obliquus is anatural plant fungal resource with a variety of biological activities. Triterpenoids are the main functional components. Because triterpenoids have excellent anticancer, hypoglycemic and antioxidant properties, the related research and development has attracted much attention in recent years. In this paper, the current research status of Inonotus obliquus triterpenoid compounds are summarized and analyzed from the aspects of induction fermentation production, separation and purification of sporophore triterpenoid compounds, chemical composition and structure analysis, functional characteristics and application development, among which the use of plant commensal microbial extracts as inducers in induction fermentation production is the most significant. The separation and purification techniques have respective advantages according to different purposes. The separation and purification technologies with high separation efficiency such as high-performance counter-current chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography are more suitable for chemical composition and structure analysis, and macroporous resin has more advantages in large-scale application. Based on the above analysis, the future research direction is prospected, which provides a theoretical basis for subsequent development and research and application in that medicine and food industry.